It’s a no-brainer for opponents of the UConn women’s basketball team to not leave any Husky open from the three-point line.
To conclude their week-long Thanksgiving break, Connecticut commenced Big East play for their 2025-26 campaign. On Sunday afternoon, the program (6-0) took on the Xavier Musketeers (4-2), resulting in a 104-39 win for the Huskies.
In this game, junior guard Ashlynn Shade and sophomore guard Allie Ziebell shined for their program from beyond the arc in the first half and second half, respectively. In total, the Huskies finished shooting 18-36 with a three-point field goal percentage of 50%. The two Huskies also led their team with 16 points (Ziebell) and 14 points (Shade).
Despite taking a little longer to adjust to the new season and roster, Shade and Ziebell looked like they picked off right where they left off in terms of the offensive side of the court.
It was a game of career highs for the team, per Maggie Vanoni of CT Insider. Kayleigh Heckel beat her career-high of rebounds at 7, Sarah Strong beat her career-high of 8 assists and Ziebell tied her career-high with five made three-pointers.
Coming into this game, both the Huskies and the Musketeers have started their regular seasons, each adjusting to the new season seamlessly.
However, the Huskies had the advantage with Xavier losing their top-rebounder, senior Savannah White, due to injury. This gave Connecticut the chance to put their full-court pressure and offensive prowess on full display to prove themselves as the top dogs of the Big East conference.
In the first half, despite a slow start for the Huskies, the program immediately took over the hardwood from start to finish, dominating the Musketeers from every end of the court.
In the first quarter, Connecticut forced the Musketeers to go scoreless from the field until there were around three minutes left. During this, the Huskies showed off their tremendous ball movement and defensive skill, shutting down Xavier’s top-scorer Mariyah Noel. Every time a Husky stepped foot out on the court, they were giving their teammates multiple opportunities and good looks to keep extending their lead.
Connecticut finished the first half with 14 assists and 23 points off the 18 turnovers they forced the Musketeers to make.
At the end of the second quarter, the score was 49-25, Huskies. Even though Noel came into this game with an average of 18 points per game, Connecticut’s defensive pressure forced her to go 0-4 from the field.
With such a hefty lead coming into the second half, it gave the Huskies a chance to utilize the depth throughout their bench to their advantage.
In the third quarter, Serah Williams flourished. In this frame, she racked up 7 points and 2 rebounds and finished the day with 10 points and 6 rebounds.
The Huskies continued to harass the Musketeers on the defensive end to close out the game in the fourth quarter. To close out the game, the Huskies forced Noel to only make 9 points out of the entire game, her first non-multi-point game of the entire season. In total, the Musketeers made a total of 31 turnovers throughout the entire game, with the Huskies scoring 45 points off those.
With Gandy Mamou Mamel scoring her first collegiate points and Kelis Fisher and Kayleigh Heckel leading the way points-wise of the squad, they put the cherry on top on this 65-point Husky win. This extends their 23-game winning streak that dates back to last season.
“We’ve tried to get a little bit better at some of the things that we felt last weekend were there,” head coach Geno Auriemma said before Sunday on what the team has been working on since the Hall of Fame Showcase; specifically, on how to manage substantial leads. “…we’ve tried to get better at what happens in the situations when you are ahead.”
Next up, the Huskies will travel to Tampa Bay, Fla. for the first time since winning their 12th National Championship. Connecticut will face the University of South Florida on Tuesday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m., and Husky fans can tune into the matchup on ESPN2 or listen in on 97.9 FM.